Seagulls

A highlight of our week was to go whale watching with my brother, Dard, who is visiting Newport Beach for the week.  As I was thinking about how wonderful it was to be back in the Newport Harbor where I spent endless hours of my childhood, I mentioned to my brother how I never imagined that this would be where I would serve a mission.  His reply was that he was glad because other wise we would never see each other.  He lives in Utah and can't really travel to South Carolina.  Over and over again I am reminded of just how much Heavenly Father loves us and wants to bless us.  

As we were watching dolphins, pelicans, seagulls and seals feeding on small fish, our boat nature guide explained how seagulls can not plunge dive into the water to catch fish.  They can only grab fish that are on the surface of the water.  If you are like me, many times have I been on the beach and watched seagulls steal food from beach bags.  I have had a prejudice against seagulls, thinking they are so annoying but with this new information, I have looked at them differently. Because I know them better and know their struggles, I am no longer judge them unkindly. I think this applies to missionary work.  As we come to know others and their struggles, we love them more as the Savior would.  We see others in a different light, as fellow children of our Heavenly Father.  There are so many children of God that I have met and come to love on this mission.  Just another blessing of being a missionary. 

This week we spent much of our time helping younger missionaries with apartment needs, including putting together dressers and exchanging bedframes from one apartment to another.  

The beginning of a senior mission may be slow as you begin to get to know people and find ways to serve.  After being here for a year, our days are always busy as others give us service opportunities because they know us, instead of us seeking them out.  We were asked this week at the last minute to help be facilitators during a CES event. Youth aged 11-18 from five stakes were invited to unravel the secrets of the Church Educational System (CES) options through an exhilarating escape room experience. We handed out puzzles which hold the key to unlocking vital information about BYU, BYU-Idaho, and Seminary & Institute.  We were also there to answer questions about the puzzles.  We each had two groups of six youth that we worked with.  This event was held at our stake center with over 350 youth attending and participating in the escape room type experience.  We had a blast.  

Also this week, a member of our ward makes stained glass lanterns, he invited us over to his house and showed us how he builds them.  He has been making them for about a year and a half and has made around 80 of them.  They are beautiful and we learned so much from him. 

Another great week in the Newport Beach, California mission.